The California Supreme court dismissed a request to place a hold on issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples by proponents of Prop 8 on Monday.

In a last-ditch effort to save the ban on gay-marriage, a coalition of groups that worked to get Prop 8 on the ballot in 2008 had requests the high court would stay issuing licences. They argued the Supreme court did not rule directly on Prop 8′s constitutionality, but rather on the merits of the groups defending the case, therefor leaving sections of the law to be argued locally.

“Although we would have preferred for the California Supreme Court to issue a stay so that the state’s marriage amendment would be respected sooner rather than later ,” saidAustin Nimocks, a lawyer for the coalition of religious conservative groups aiming to uphold Prop 8, according to the Associated Press. “We remain hopeful that the court will recognize that Proposition 8 remains the law of the land in California and that county clerks must continue to enforce it.”

The California Supreme Court had ruled Prop 8 constitutional and local religious and conservative groups had risen to appeal the decision. A June 2013 decision by the Supreme Court dismissed that appeal saying the non-state groups defending the state-law had no standing to do so. While this has been interpreted as an overturning of Prop 8, the California Supreme Court has said it is still deciding if the ruling applied state-wide, or only to the two counties where the original appeal was filed.

HRC President Chad Griffin released a statement following the CA Supreme Court denial, saying marriage-equality opponents had failed to deny happiness and protections to gay couples and their children. “Marriage equality has returned to the Golden State and just as David Blankenhorn, the star witness for Prop 8 came to support marriage equality, I hope others will open their hearts and minds and realize that marriage will soon come to all 50 states in this country.”

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